National Archives This is historical material “frozen in time”. The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.

Tax cuts hit home
Editorial
The Washington Times
January 11, 2018

This week Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, became the latest major American corporation to celebrate the tax cut by granting its 1.5 million employees a well-deserved raise.

Walmart is clear about the how, the why and the wherefore. “Tax reform gives us the opportunity to be more competitive globally and to accelerate plans for the U.S.,” the company CEO says. “We are early in the stages of assessing the opportunities.” This suggests more good news to come.

A robust labor market is finally pushing upward pressure on American wages after the pain of stagnation that was the mark of the Obama years. Target, like Walmart, boosted wages late last year to retain cashiers and stockers. Unemployment stands at 4.1 percent — more or less full employment – and it’s clear that the tax cut has introduced an unexpected Era of Good Feelings.

The roll of companies giving workers bonuses reads as if the list was lifted from the Fortune 500: American Airlines, Comcast, JetBlue, AT&T, Bank of America, U.S. Bank, Nationwide Insurance.

The companies have been clear about the link to the new tax law. “The new tax legislation, including a reduced corporate tax rate,” says Nationwide, is “one of the reasons we’re making this investment.” AT&T agrees: “Congress, working closely with the President, took a monumental step to bring taxes paid by U.S. businesses in line with the rest of the industrialized world,” says a spokesman. “This tax reform will drive economic growth and create good-paying jobs. In fact, we will increase our U.S. investment and pay a special bonus to our U.S. employees.”

Read the full editorial here.